Authentic experiences highlight business students’ mock trials

Rarely are attorneys or defendants allowed to quiz judges about their rulings after court cases, but a group of Purdue University Fort Wayne students were encouraged to ask questions following recent mock trials held on campus Dec. 10 and 12. The sessions were part of limited-term lecturer Staci Bougher’s commercial law class.

“These are just life experiences and I want my students to walk away from and have some familiarity and not be afraid when these things happen,” Bougher said, “or say, `OK I have to go to court on this, but I know how things work.’ Don’t be as intimidated.”

Magistrates Rick Trevino from the Allen Circuit Court and Brian Cook from the Allen Superior Court ensured the students’ experiences were positive.

“I love teaching and if it wasn’t for what I’m doing now, I would probably be a professor or teacher somewhere,” Trevino said. “I just love helping kids and sparking their interests, particularly in the legal profession. I know this is probably the first time a lot of them have had the opportunity to engage in an exercise like this, so if there’s any way I can help; I just love giving back, too.”

Cook, a member of the Mastodon Alumni Community, studied criminal justice and psychology before starting his law career.

“When I was here, we had multiple adjunct professors from the prosecutor’s office, defense attorneys, police officers, and such, and it was a fantastic experience,” Cook said. “I loved that we had PhDs everywhere with the professors teaching us, but the real-world stuff intrigued us then, and I was hoping it would intrigue these students today.”

The current PFW students showed how seriously they took the December experience by being well-prepared for it. They asked probing questions of witnesses and made solid opening and closing statements.

“As long as you understand the case, it really starts to flow because everybody gets into their roles, and it all starts to connect,” said Natalie Seftick, a junior. “I feel really positive about all of this. At the beginning, I was nervous, but once the questions started rolling in, all I could focus on was how I wanted things to be in favor of my client.”

There was even an official Allen County bailiff present, former U.S. Marine and future Mastodon Donyell Smith, who said he’s been accepted to PFW and intends to begin classes in the fall. When he called “All rise!” the IDEASpace atmosphere immediately turned serious.

The cases were designed to be difficult, causing thorough debate, and sometimes the judges’ decisions were unexpected, so the explanations were critical and appreciated.

“I got a really valuable, more realistic, grounded experience,” said sophomore Cameron Grawcock. “I think a lot of what we see on media and TV gives us an unrealistic expectation, and I think going through the court procedure and taking care of things in advance by preparing for it gave me a much better perspective.”

That answer fulfills Bougher’s goals. After working as a family lawyer for a decade, this is the second semester she has held the mock trials, using her previous connections to invite legal professionals' participation.

“I like having somebody who is not me being the judge, somebody new to the students so it raises their game,” Bougher said. “The judges like interacting with the students because they are the next generation, and they get to see how good they are. They know it is serious because grades are involved, but they aren’t dealing with such serious things that they see in real life every day. They can relax a little bit.”

During the first week of the fall semester, students in the class were informed the mock trials were coming, and preparation on developing questions and learning court procedures started halfway through the term. The trials are held in the last two classes before finals, with everyone dressing up. They consist of two approximately 45-minute sessions, with opening and closing statements and each side receiving 15 minutes to present.

“So many people see the law through the lens of popular culture, and they come into my class and get the book and think, `Oh, this is the driest thing. I don’t want to go to law school,’” Bougher said. “They are business students and wonder what the law has to do with them. A lot, so you add this extra element of a mock trial, and they see it. I want them to see a different perspective.”

Several students said the experience was better and more than they expected, and Bougher is considering adding mock trials to other classes she teaches. Watching the classes also counts toward PFW’s civics literacy requirement.